Please Give Me A Chance
by in-dreams-maybe
Summary: For what seems like the millionth time, James attempts to ask Lily out again. Will the result be any different? Read on and find out! Story is better than summary.


Disclaimer: Never owned it, never will.

A/N: Revised as of 11/02/2014!

Please Give Me A Chance

She glared at him, rolling her eyes with a huff of irritation. Didn't he ever get tired of asking her out time after time? Everyone has to have a limit to the number of rejections he or she can possibly bear, right? Right?

The man standing before her gave lie to that statement. James Potter seemed to have an infinite threshold for Lily's multiple rejections. Merlin, she had lost count ages ago! _Must be up to ten thousand by now, _Lily thought. Time and time again she had said no to him, even throwing a nasty insult or two (or ten) just to get him off her tail.

She wished he would pay more attention in class, stop earning detentions and losing all the house points she had got from the professors for getting the right answers. She wished he would stop pranking everyone, particularly the Slytherins. It's not like she was very fond of them, but the pranks aimed at them always seemed to carry a hint of hate, and Lily didn't like it. It was _wrong_ to hate someone, to make their lives a misery, just because of the colour of their robes, for Circe's sake!

"Hey, uh, Lily?" James' voice brought Lily back down to Earth with a bump. "Is it a yes, or... you know, the other one? The, um, not yes?"

It didn't escape Lily's notice how James' eyes clouded up with pain as the last part left his lips. A shocking revelation hit her as she finally realized just how much her continual rejections had hurt him. Soon, a raging internal battle waged furiously within Lily.

_Of course it's a no, _said the 'devil' within her. _He's just an arrogant toerag, a feather-brained prat as usual. He's not even worth your consideration!_

_ But, _interjected the 'angel', _James changed. For you, Lily. How could you say no to him now, after all he's done for you? I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice how he actually comes to classes on time nowadays? How his hair is gelled back because you hated it when he ran his fingers through his hair? Merlin's pants, Lily! He hasn't pranked a Slytherin in weeks! All these little things about himself, he changed so that you might like him better, so that he might at least stand a chance with you. How can you bring yourself to reject him again? Can't you see how it's killing him from the inside?_

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place! Lily really didn't know what to do. Say 'no' out of instinct? Or actually have a heart and say 'yes'?

Lily's mind brought her back to the not-so-distant past. Shocked, she realized that it _was _true, James really changed his old habits to become more like the man Lily had wanted. She'd never gone so long without seeing James get a detention and lose house points, she'd never gone so long without seeing someone's wand explode in class, and she'd never gone so long without laughter.

Just the other week, Lily had seen James spend hours on the pitch helping a first year learn to fly, rather than jumping onto his broom and showing off before flying away, as he'd normally have done. Lily had concealed herself carefully and watched from her hiding place, marveled at how his kind hazel eyes sparkled with passion as he spoke of a sport he loved dearly. She watched silently as he taught the young boy the right way to grip his broom, teaching him all about posture, without a single scathing remark. She continued looking as the first year took to the skies with James hovering close by, beaming and offering a continuous stream of encouragement and praise without once doing anything to flaunt his superiority on a broomstick.

As the duo's feet skimmed the lush green blades of the Quidditch pitch before they dismounted, Lily swiftly made for her common room, still amazed at the scene she'd witnessed that day.

It was then that she decided that she _liked _this new James Potter. _Maybe, _thought the redhead, _he's worth a chance after all._

"Um, James? It's a yes," decided Lily finally. This statement seemed to have caused him to lose the reins on his remaining sanity and he hopped around screaming 'YES!' at the top of his voice like a mad person gone loose.

He was about to bounce off a corner and go off somewhere, when something suddenly struck him. "Hey, Lily? Can I tell everyone we're officially a couple now?"

"No," said Lily flatly. "It's not official."

"Yet," James added cheekily, grinning like a maniac. "You'll come round to my point of view someday, I can promise you that."


End file.
